D&D 5E Abjuration vs. Illusion - Which one should I pick?

J

J Neto

First Post

• Jan 12, 2019

• #1

This is the part 2 of mine "Help me Build this lvl 20 Character" thread. I'm now a lvl 3 character, Cleric 1/Wizard 2. Now I need to choose my chool of magic. Have any of you played any of these schools? Or maybe both?Which one do you guys think it's better? Right now from what I've read Abjuration seems more solid, more safe to use and somewhat more powerful. Illusion though seems more fun, but risky if I get a bad DM that will find ways to make it not work. Pretty much I'm being held by "Resistence to spell damage, +43 HP fully rechargeable with spell mastery, and mainly Proficency in dispell magic" vs. "Illusory reality - SO GOOD and maleable illusions."

PS: I don't know if you need more information than that, there's some in the original post, but I don't know if it's relevant.

 

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FrogReaver

As long as i get to be the frog

• Jan 12, 2019

• #2

1. Are you having trouble surviving?
2. Have you used illusions much if at all?
3. Are you encountering a lot of magic using enemies?

 

L

lokhra

First Post

• Jan 12, 2019

• #3

I think this depends a lot on your DM. Illusions can be a ton of fun, but if your DM and other players don't want to spend the time to play through them it can be frustrating for the wizard player. Big fan of the illusion school, and enjoy when clever uses of illusion add to the game.

 

Hawk Diesel

Adventurer

• Jan 13, 2019

• #4

lokhra said:

I think this depends a lot on your DM. Illusions can be a ton of fun, but if your DM and other players don't want to spend the time to play through them it can be frustrating for the wizard player. Big fan of the illusion school, and enjoy when clever uses of illusion add to the game.

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This. Abjurer is one of the more powerful schools mechanically (if not the most powerful). But Illusion can offer a lot more creative options for clever play and role playing opportunities / shenanigans. However, it relies a lot more on DM fiat, and so can be very frustrating if your DM is not on board with giving you leeway on how your illusions interact with others. For example, if your DM always allows for the chance to see through the illusions, or is always like "they attempt to disbelieve" even if there would not necessarily be logical reason for the targets to disbelieve the illusion, it would not be as fun.

 

J

J Neto

First Post

• Jan 13, 2019

• #5

Hawk Diesel said:

This. Abjurer is one of the more powerful schools mechanically (if not the most powerful). But Illusion can offer a lot more creative options for clever play and role playing opportunities / shenanigans. However, it relies a lot more on DM fiat, and so can be very frustrating if your DM is not on board with giving you leeway on how your illusions interact with others. For example, if your DM always allows for the chance to see through the illusions, or is always like "they attempt to disbelieve" even if there would not necessarily be logical reason for the targets to disbelieve the illusion, it would not be as fun.

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That's exactly what I'm afraid of. In this game I'm going to play with a lot of different DM's, since it's a series of one-shots that get together to form some storylines. So I can't really analize every DM.

 

Hawk Diesel

Adventurer

• Jan 13, 2019

• #6

Then I would recommend an abjurer. Still a fun class, and you can still take and use illusion spells. But it won't be your main thing, so it won't be so bad if you get a DM less willing to play along with your illusions.

 

Mistwell

Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)

• Jan 13, 2019

• #7

Abjurer. If you will have many DMs with differing opinions on illusions, then go abjurer. Plus, it's a strong school. Remember to get the Alarm spell for your ritual book, and cast it as a ritual every short rest to recharge your arcane ward.

 

T

Teulisch

First Post

• Jan 13, 2019

• #8

abjuration is very strong, mechanically. you get extra hp, can use that to shield others in your party, and you can easily counterspell things.

by comparison, illusion is only as strong as your DM permits it to be. most of the more interesting illusion spells are conditional in their use, and the really good illusionist feature is at higher level than most games will ever reach.

so go abjuration, and be a very annoyingly hard to kill war wizard.

 

J

J Neto

First Post

• Jan 13, 2019

• #9

I know I will be going to high levels in this campaign, so this is not a problem. The thing about the Illusion School is that illusory reality bypasses that "conditional" factor doesn't it? Being able to make a mithril wall, and change it to a box around the enemies with a action in the next turn, without concentration seems so powerful.

 

C

CTurbo

Explorer

• Jan 13, 2019

• #10

Abjuration is an excellent choice on it's own, but I think it'd even be better having many different DMs because you get to repeatedly shut down all their enemy casters all the time lol